Leaving your trace behind….

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Monthly Archives: March 2015

I pray all is well. Today we would like to ask for your help, we hope to raise money for those suffering in war torn Syria. Just imagine if that was your family stranded in war and have no other place to escape to? Every where they look is dead end, no food no shelter and no basic necessities to see them through the days, weeks, months and years! Our sisters and mothers are tearing their garments to use as sanitary pads, our youths are starving and eating rotten food and grass to stay alive, our girls are fainting due to severe hunger and we in our current state eat to our fill, dress as we please and have access to free medical services…..the least we could do is dig deep in our pockets and give as little or as much you want.

“Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan so that He may multiply it to him many times? And it is Allah that decreases or increases (your provisions), and unto Him you shall return.” [Surah al-Baqarah: 245]

Save your tongue from useless talk and spend it in asking forgiveness from Allah, don’t get diverted and think there’s always a tomorrow. Do it now!

Talq bin Habib said, “Indeed, the rights of Allah are too great for His slaves to be able to fulfill them. And indeed, His favors and blessings are too many for them to be able to enumerate them. Then [the only way to safety] is for you to wake up every morning and repent for your sins, and go to bed every night and repent for your sins.”

A question for our readers? How many times today have we sat and thanked Allah for everything He has bestowed on us? For the working limbs, the near perfect vision, the strength to carryout our chores and the mind to differentiate?

Read on and lets make it a habit to seek forgiveness as well as making Dhikr (remembering Allah)

When passing through a mountain pass, a bedouin once came across an old man who was blind and who seemed to be afflicted with various ailments all over his body. It was clear that he was wasting away. He was even paralyzed and was constantly forced to remain in a seated position. The Bedouin could clearly hear him say, “All praise is for Allah, Who has kept me safe from ailments with which He has tesed many among His creation; and He has indeed preferred me over many among those that He created.”

“My brother!” exclaimed the bedouin. “What have you been saved from? By Allah, I think that you have been afflicted with every single kind of ailment!”

“Go away from me,” said the old man, as he raised his head. “Do I not still have a tongue with which I can pronounce His Oneness, and with which I can remember Him every single moment? And do I not still have a heart with which I can know Him?”

These words of the old man were enough for the bedouin to repent to Allah for his sins and ask Him for forgiveness.

Iman is a great tool that needs sharpening every time, because its your iman that determine what you will do next. Read the following story and see what those involved got in the end….stay strong dear readers regardless of the situation, a few seconds of pleasure is not worth it especially if we are talking about the fire of hell.

A very rich businessman was once relaxing in his home when he heard someone knock on his door. When he opened the door, there standing before him was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his entire life. He yearned for her and invited her to come inside. But it was not to fulfill his desires that she came; rather, she came because she was extremely poor and was forced to go around begging for money. He ignored her plea for help and instead insisted that she come inside. She answered him in a clear and dignified tone,

“Death is better than disobeying my Lord.” She left but then returned after a number of days. Her situation had become more desperate and again she asked him to help her. The businessman answered her as he did the first time.With tears flowing down her cheeks, the girl entered his house. Again she pleaded, “Please! Feed me for the Countenance of Allah!” “Not unless you allow me to satisfy my desires with you,” said the man, both coldly and hungrily. “Death is better than the punishment of Allah,” proclaimed the girl. As she was leaving, her sincere words echoed in the mind of the businessman, and after a long life of sinning, sincere tears of remorse flowed from his eyes for the very first time. He repented to Allah and then fed the girl. He later married her and they enjoyed a happy marriage together. [So, in the end, he got what he wanted, except that he got it in a lawful manner. And that is what made all the difference].

Growing up in a society that always want want want can sometimes have its own implications. We sometimes forget what we started off with….when you get little you want more. Thats absolutly normal, its a human behaviour….however, when you get more, you desire even more. But….when you lose it thats when you realise LITTLE was more than enough.

Ibn ‘Abbas and Anas bin Malik (radi Allahu anhum) reported that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “If a son of Adam were to own a valley full of gold, he would desire to have two. Nothing can fill his mouth except the earth (of the grave). Allah turns with mercy to him who turns to Him in repentance” [Bukhari and Muslim]

Let not the amusements and distractions of this world divert us from the bigger picture…the Akhira which is ever lasting.

The following is one of the famous sayings of al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him:

“Before He created us, Allah knew that we would sin and disobey Him, yet He still made us Muslims. O sinners, hurry to repent before the pangs of death overcome you, before the time of utter regret is upon you. Work, for death is coming, and everything that is coming is near at hand. Death hovers over you day and night; it will not come late, not even for one who has lost track of time.”

Don’t let things that are doubtful or sinful cross your mind, and if they do stop yourself from continuing the deed. Read the following advice given by Imam Al-Ghazali:

Cut the root instead of the branch – If the first inward thought is not warded off, it will generate a desire. The desire will generate a wish, the wish will generate an intention, the intention will generate an action, and the action will result in ruin, and divine wrath. So evil must be cut off at its root, which is when it is simply a thought that crosses the mind. —Imam Al-Ghazali

We sometimes forget our past which usually is the main reason for our present and sometimes what is to come in the future. We hope you enjoy this story of what a simple repentance could do to our life.

A righteous man was once asked to tell the story of the pivotal moment of his life, the moment in which he first began to apply the teachings of Islam, and the following was his answer:

When I was a young man, I would not hesitate to perpetrate any sin that was made available to me. Then, one day, I saw a young woman who was perhaps the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Much tempted by her, I indicated to her that I wanted her to approach me. She seemed nervous, but I thought that she would probably agree to satisfy my sexual desires for money. She approached me with what seemed to be a great deal of trepidation, and when she actually stood before me, she looked extremely terrified.

Feeling sorry for her, I said, ‘Do not fear, for I will not harm you.’But my words did not lessen her terrible fright in the least; in fact, her situation worsened. She began to tremble like a palm tree leaf trembles with the wind. I said, ‘Tell me your story.’ She said, ‘By Allah, o my brother, never before this day have I offered my body in this way. Dire need is what has driven me to this, for I have three daughters who have not eaten a single morsel of food for three days now. It was pity for them that brought me to this low point in my life.’

For the first time in my life, I felt pity; her story moved me, and I no longer entertained the intention of taking advantage of her. After she told me where she lived, I took a great deal of money, clothing and food to her house. When I returned to my house, I told my mother what had happened. My mother knew that I had a book in which I would record all of my evil deeds, and so she said to me, ‘My son, you are a man who has never performed a good deed except for the good deed that you performed today. I know that you have a book in which you record your evil exploits, go now and write in it your good deed.’

I stood up, went to my book, opened it, and found that all of its pages were blank- except for the first page on which was written a single line.

إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ

Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins) [Hud : 114] At that very moment, I raised my hands to the sky and said, ‘By your Might and Majesty, never again will I disobey You.’ “